Unfortunately, the latest is that in a last-ditch effort to save their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Senate Republican leaders are reportedly[2] offering $200 billion to win the votes of senators from states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.

Here’s a brief explanation from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

“This new fund would presumably supplement private coverage for those who gained Medicaid coverage under the expansion but would lose it under the Senate bill. No senator should fall for it. While $200 billion seems like a lot of money, it’s only 17 percent of the bill’s $1.2 trillion in cuts: $756 billion from Medicaid and $427 billion from subsidies to help low- and moderate-income people buy coverage in the individual market.”

Overall, it is clear that this additional money would do nothing to fix[3] the major and fundamental problems that the bill would create:

It would do nothing to offset the Medicaid cuts resulting from the per capita cap, which would affect children, seniors, and people with disabilities in all states. These cuts would shift ever-increasing costs to states, forcing the states to respond by making ever-deepening cuts in eligibility, benefits, and provider payments.

It would do nothing to address the bill’s harm to people with private coverage, including the loss of coverage for millions of people (due largely to sharp cuts in marketplace subsidies), increased costs for those who stay covered, and the loss of access to health care for millions with pre-existing conditions.

It would do nothing to address the fact that millions of lower-income marketplace consumers in non-expansion states (like North Carolina) would see their deductibles jump many thousands of dollars under the Senate bill.

No one should be fooled: The reported $200 billion cannot fix this bill, and does not come close to undoing coverage cuts.

“Based on the facts, it is clear that NC’s two U.S. senators should support the idea of starting from scratch with a different, bipartisan approach that leaves Medicaid aside and focus on making real improvements to marketplace stability and affordability.”

Luis A. Toledo is a Public Policy Analyst for the Budget & Tax Center, a project of the North Carolina Justice Center.